Volkswagen Workers Vote To Unionize In Historic UAW Election That Could Change The Industry Forever

volkswagen unionize
ADVERTISEMENT

After years of unsuccessful attempts at unionization, workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga assembly plant voted to join the United Auto Workers Friday night, marking the beginning of what could be a huge expansion for a union on the heels of historic victories in Detroit.

The UAW’s huge wins last year saw wage increases for Ford, GM, and Stellantis workers, as well as Cost of Living adjustments, long-term product commitments for plants, retirement improvements, the removal of a controversial “tier-system” that many thought left too many people in temporary roles for too long, and much more. The UAW’s agreements in Detroit were a monumental win for American labor.

And that momentum has now carried over to Tennessee, where the UAW gaining a stronghold is a big deal not only for VW workers, but for workers at other non-union assembly plants across America, especially in the south.

Ironically, Volkswagen was the last foreign automaker to have a union shop in the United States—the Westmoreland, Pennsylvania plant—which closed down in 1988 due to an overall decrease in sales. Since then, none other has joined the UAW ranks.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Autopian (@theautopian)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Autopian (@theautopian)

Given VW’s size and especially its long history in the U.S., Friday’s results could give the UAW the momentum it needs to start knocking on the doors of Honda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Volvo, Mazda, … basically every other foreign automaker on our shores. Not only that, but Lucid, Tesla, and Rivian, as well. The UAW is planning on holding a vote for workers at Mercedes-Benz in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in May. Many workers are unionized in Mercedes’ home country; why not here, too?

The New York Times breaks down the meaning of tonight’s historic results in Chattanooga:

But the union had failed in previous attempts to organize any of the two dozen automobile factories owned by other companies across an area stretching from South Carolina to Texas and as far north as Ohio and Indiana.

[…]

“Tonight you all together have taken a giant, historic step,” Shawn Fain, the president of the U.A.W., said at a celebratory gathering in Chattanooga. “Tonight we celebrate this historic moment in our nation’s and our union’s history. Let’s get to it and go to work and win more for the working class of this nation.”

[…]

A large U.A.W. presence in the South would also upset an automotive landscape in which U.A.W. contracts have left G.M., Ford and Stellantis with higher labor costs than nonunion rivals like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Tesla and Hyundai.

“This is a watershed moment for the industry,” said Harley Shaiken, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, who has followed the U.A.W. for more than three decades. “It sets an example that would resonate across the industry, and across other industries where there’s a large presence of nonunion workers.”

It shouldn’t be understated how big of a deal it is that this happened in a southern state, where republican lawmakers have expressed animosity towards unions for, well, seemingly forever. 

Id.4 Production In Chattanooga Us Plant Shapes Up For E Mobili
Volkswagen

Time and time again, Republican governors have expressed concern for their states being business-unfriendly, and claimed that nonunion jobs would suffer. 

Mbusi Tuscaloosa Produktion W1920xh1080 Cutout
Mercedes-Benz

No matter what you make of it, we’re in for a fascinating year. Public opinion of union membership has been quite positive in recent years, nearly the same as it was in the late ‘60s, according to Gallup polling. Hm, I wonder what happened in the ’80s that could’ve contributed to that? 

2024 is just barely getting started. We’ll most likely have a lot more unionization news to report on in the coming weeks and months.

About the Author

View All My Posts

92 thoughts on “Volkswagen Workers Vote To Unionize In Historic UAW Election That Could Change The Industry Forever”

  2. Unions are theft. Their main interest is self-Interest. They’re too big and too many people work for them. The UAW has a revenue of nearly 300 million dollars a year and sit on 1 billion dollars in assets. They do not care about the worker at all, they care about subscriptions to keep the revenue stream going. Whatever benefit there is to the worker is often dubious or superficial or even worse, entrenches a culture of work to rule and laziness that ultimately risks the companies existence.
    Historically, organized crime (mob) got into cash cows like gambling, hookers, theft, alcohol and drugs, extortion and UNIONS. Fitting as unions are a cash cow specializing in extortion and theft.

  3. This morning, NPR had an interview with the head of the UAW. He was asked about the Republican politicians asking the workers to vote against the union, saying unions “are against our way of life.” (Poverty? IDK). Anyway, he called the politicians “puppets of the billionaire class.” That pretty shocking to hear on NPR.

    I mean, he’s not wrong. But shocking nevertheless.

    1. I like him. He doesn’t seem to mince words. NPR doesn’t have a strong stance on billionaires as far as I know…though they are partly funded by their businesses!

    2. Shawn Fain gives zero fucks. I love his interviews; he always calls out the billionaire class. He even did it in front of congress, he talked about the “freeloaders and welfare queens” being the billionaires and Wall Street types.

  4. I have worked in both union and non-union jobs. The union places have always been better. I have been in a union for 25 years and a union steward for about 6 of those years. If you do not think unions are necessary anymore you need to look around more.

    1. I worked at a unionized lumber yard when I graduated college and needed a job immediately. I wound up staying for 3 years.
      1: We got every holiday imaginable off.
      2: Fully paid healthcare
      3: Matchin 401k
      4: Closed Sundays
      5: A pension plan

      That last one is very significant. Because if you stayed 25 years then you would then get a full pension. So ironically even though I am only in my mid-40’s and now work at an office job some of the people I worked for at the lumber yard have since retired. A few simply moved out of state to the boonies and can now live the rest of their lives in retirement…. before the age of 50. AMAZING.

  5. As I recall VW originally wanted a union because it would fit into their management workflow as practiced at their other plants. I.e. management tells union what they want to do and the union takes on some of the task of figuring out who does what. Also a number of seats on the VW board are held by the union.

    1. It wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out that my beloved-but-backwards-ass state is more “pro-business” than… the business in question.

  7. For the inevitable comments blaming labor for the malaise era and general quality/reliability issues coming from union plants:

    Corporations are responsible for the hostile, toxic environment that fuels not just unionization but bad product.

    For example, during the malaise era, laborers in successful plants that had been unionized for decades were now being penalized for pointing out mistakes on the assembly line. “It’s the dealers problem” was a common sentiment among management.

    That’s not UAW, that’s straight from corporate. It killed morale, trickled down to the consumer and hurt sales (which is the only time anyone even pretends to care).

    The same guy who happily built a ‘57 Bel Air can hate every minute of building a ‘79 Chevette (wouldn’t you?). UAW didn’t cut corners and costs every step during R&D. That’s corporate once again.

    And if you have a problem seeing coworkers who don’t share your “grindset mindset” being paid the same as you, stop and think about why you really work so hard. Is it important for you to maintain excellence or do you just need to feel you’re better than someone else? If it’s the latter, you need a vacation…and maybe a hug.

    2. I’d like a source to verify on the malaise being a management problem. The facts need to be known so we can construct better practices for the future. And that’s as a pro-labor person.

      I don’t want to rehash the guild mindset where they protect their patch and do nothing else. That’s management’s game.

      1. “I’d like a source to verify on the malaise being a management problem.”

        1) Chevy Vega

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Vega

        2) Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare – and it’s 8 first-year recalls.

        3) The GM X-Body cars of 1980

        They all suffered from poor quality and cost cutting at the hands of management – to the point when there were issues w/ assembly, management scapegoated workers when the underlying issues were caused by engineering, accounting and management.

            1. To be honest, I don’t know when development started on the Neon…but I think it’s close?

              Crapiwikipedia says that development may have started in 1987, but I cannot say for sure.

          2. As I recall, Chrysler couldn’t scapegoat assembly workers for that – in the same way GM couldn’t pin the Diesel disaster and V8-6-4 engines on assembly workers either.

        1. Named for a speech Jimmy Carter gave which at the time was ridiculed, but if you listen to it now it’s remarkable relevant. He doesn’t actually use the word malaise, but the republicans named it that.

          1. It fit the era. Everything was breaking down, resulting in the Lemon Laws, first directed towards automobiles and their excessive defects, both from poor assembly by Unionized workers and by inherent engineering mistakes, like the posterboy of the 1970s, the Chevy Vega
            Sure late ’60s cars had their issues, but nowhere as bad as the ’70s, like my neighbor, got a brand new ’74 LTD Wagon, that had no oil in the rear axle.
            That didn’t last 50 miles before it needed to be towed.
            And nobody, not even the dealer, knew how the new vacuum based emission controls were to behave. So real drivability issues, like vapor lock far more than before.

            I got off lucky with my Fords, just finish and trim issues. But I got lucky in not getting a Monday or Friday built car. God help those guys who pulled that straw at the dealership.

            1. If labor is not incentivized to work that is a management issue. If labor is unskilled, that is a management issue. If you want to be paid 100-500x your average worker to run a company, then every damn thing is YOUR ISSUE.

  11. The free riders who don’t pay dues will get the bare minimum in a RTW-for-less state. Dues-paying members are a little more equal.

    In a union friendly and at-will employment state, the union can and will refuse to represent non members. That’s the only practical difference in day to day life. In a union workplace the trash still gets taken out. There are steps that have to be followed is all. Can’t be fired just because your manager has a hissy fit one day.

          1. One gun owner goes off the deep end and we’re supposed to believe all gun owners are bad too right? Or is that acceptable because it’s your tribe?

          2. There are also the courts for filing wrongful termination suits. Judges make some truly breathtakingly horrendous decisions too. A lot of those are not able to be appealed.

            All a union does is put down in writing what steps need to be taken in a given situation for the union members. Then provides assistance to its members to help them keep their job when a situation arises.

            Believe it or not, some union contracts have provisions for members getting fired with cause for intoxication on the job. My union contract sure does. Chrsler’s must have had something else at that point. It likely got changed to include intoxication in the next negotiation.

            The system worked as written out in the contract. It’s not the fault of the union the arbitrator made a terrible decision.

      2. You went back to 2012 (12 years ago) to find a singular dude drinking on the job being put back on?

        I personally have had some owner’s kid threaten to shoot me at work while flying on coke for telling him to call out and sober up and got me canned for it. That was 2018. So I’m biased, I admit, but I’ve seen more examples of management protecting poor workers than unions have, in my lifetime, in quality of violation and in quantity. Prove otherwise.

  12. I’m hoping all this labor momentum carries through to teacher’s unions. We’re in a contract year in my district, and daddy desperately needs some cash!

    1. Good luck! My district had a good outcome last year. About time they paid for one of the certifications I have to hold in order to do my job.

          1. Tesla took over what I would consider one of GMs best modern plants, NUMMI, where they built the Pontiac Vibe in a joint-venture with Toyota. A fine union-built car that will outlive every Tesla.

  14. Chiming in on the union/anti-union discussion.
    I won’t waste anyone’s time explaining to those who already understand and those with inflexible minds. Suffice it to say that there is a reason unions exist in the first place.
    If you want to know, use the Google machine.

  16. Volkswagen wanted this to be a union shop in 2014, in a twist the workers defeated a management driven union vote. Well, how the turn tables turn. It’s weird how anti-union mothership VW has become. Being that basically entire German workforce is represent by one of the largest labor unions on Earth and all. Good to see “union for ze, no union for you” finally ended.

    1. I’ve never heard of VW being anti-union, although what happens in the US sometimes stays in the US. In Europe VW, like most other larger businesses, are used to not just dealing with unions, but involving them constructively in helping to run the business.
      Which partly explains Tesla’s problems in Sweden. It’s just how people have made things work.

  18. This is fantastic news! After seeing what DeSantis did to the outside workers of Florida (and the county workers), I will always vote for extra insurance for those in the trenches.

  19. So everything the current VW worker has acheived has been done without a union, so why exactly do they need one? Will the large number of workers who voted against UAW be forced and/or intimidated into joining? If not, long live the free riders.

    1. VW is unionized in Germany and the union even has board representation. This seems like a lot of hyperbole without facts to back it up? Hard to understand the point here, unless the author just hates unions. If that’s the root, easier to just say that.

    2. Why do they need one?

      Better pay.
      Job protections.
      Management accountability.
      Safety.

      Nobody is forced to join; depending on the state, they can get the protection without paying dues, or they are free to go get a job elsewhere.

    3. It’s funny when the ‘I stand on my own two feet’ people think they have power over corporations and management, then somehow justify taking things for free that other people have earned.

  24. Oof.

    I knew someone who at the time was (and possibly still is) addicted to meth, and to my knowledge said someone still has a job assembling transmissions for Stellantis, and they bragged about how they couldn’t be fired because they’re UAW.

    Forgive me for not being excited that the Union who brought us the Chicken Tax has taken over another plant.

    I’m sure the UAW will really drive down costs at the VW plant and make their offerings affordable….

    1. They absolutely can be fired; the union is not a full stop on firing; it is just a body that ensures there is a very specific set of rules and a process for firing.

      I do not know what the contract between UAW and Stellantis states specifically, but usually, dismissal for violating drug policy just requires documentation and a chance to seek help before dismissal, which seems like a better option than firing somebody with an active addiction anyway…

    2. Your anecdote is far from ordinary truth.

      The UAW will go to bat for someone with a substance abuse problem to get them treatment and attempt to help them keep their job during recovery, but they’re no more interested in having long-term addicts as members than the company is in having them as employees. And it’s definitely not a guarantee. Many have been and will continue to be fired for substance abuse.

      How they performed both as workers and as loyal union members isn’t supposed to influence the outcome of disciplinary action regarding substance abuse or any other issue, but sometimes that matters, too.

    3. To be clear, Lyndon Johnson brought the chicken tax to counter tariffs from Europe on yard buzzards raised in the US.

      About the UAW’s role in this, Wikipedia spells this out. It’s a bit more nuanced than saying the UAW made the Chicken Tax happen:

      “In January 1964, President Johnson attempted to convince United Auto Workers’ president Walter Reuther not to initiate a strike just before the 1964 election and to support the president’s civil-rights platform. Reuther, in turn, wanted Johnson to respond to Volkswagen’s increased shipments to the United States.” [Wikipedia]

      The UAW was on board supporting it, but so were the US auto manufacturers, because it helped kill VW’s growing market Type 2 market share. That directly eroded US truck maker sales.

      The UAW agreed to forego a strike and support this and the civil rights movement. The Chicken Tax provided cover for Johnson to stymie VW, avoid a strike before an election, and get important legislation passed.

      Can’t just put the union on this hook – the big 3 really got the protectionism win, union workers get busy building more trucks, bills get passed, etc. Even Japan pulled their small but budding truck sales at the time.

    4. See, sometimes you make dumb posts…but this one is *chef’s kiss*

      The union didn’t bring the chicken tax, dunce, and you can absolutely be fired from a union job

      1. Don’t get all twitter dunk-y on here calling people “dunces” and saying “stupid post.”

        I quit the other site because of the commenters being unable to respond civilly. The degradation of discourse only helps the dishonest. Let the facts speak for themselves.

        1. Honestly man I’d rather be called an idiot than have my comments forever be in the greys, or (on some forums) have them be completely shadowbanned.

          That being said there are objectively true things that you can say that can get your comments removed on this site, In my case they relate to public persons, on this site, who have run for federal office, doing bad things.

          Just a heads up, the current standards for criticizing people on this site is that if they have an Autopian account, you cannot criticize them on this site, even if their actions have harmed a lot of people, and or they are responsible for the deaths of innocents.

          With that being said this site is a lot better than basically every other car site I’ve been on, so hopefully you won’t run into the same issues that I have.

      2. They did, LBJ pulled the trigger, but they were THE Union lobbying LBJ to kill off the competition of foreign automakers, with the threat of a strike if LBJ didn’t do it.

        Because of that and other automotive protectionist measures I’d argue that US automobiles have been and continue to be worse because of the stifled competition.

        I’d argue without the Chicken Tax and the footprint rule that domestic automakers would still having trouble competing, even after 60 years of Government protection from foreign competition.

        The Footprint rule will become irrelevant with BEVs becoming the standard, provided said rule is not amended, but the Chicken Tax still is a massive barrier to entry.

        1. I men, someone has already covered this this morning, but this is a (purposeful?) wildly-generalized comment that is largely incorrect. And you know what you’re doing, so, yeah

          1. Then let me clarify:

            The UAW was the main union behind the chicken tax.

            The US auto industry is worse off because of the chicken tax and by extension everyone who buys their products is worse off.

            At the time of the chicken tax and after the UAW was a bunch of bullies, where autoworkers who drove foreign made vehicles would regularly have their vehicles intentionally damaged by UAW members. For an extremely long time their were like a half-assed autoworker mafia.

            1. I can agree with all of this, from anything that I have read.

              However, that’s not the same as “from the union that brought us the chicken tax.”

  25. Holy carp, that’s huge. Well done. Hopefully it’ll have a domino effect and the other confederate states will become a little more civilized too.

    1. Funny, I don’t feel Confederate! I live in Chattanooga and my feelings are of contempt towards the right-wing anti union local and state politicians who insisted on inserting themselves into the matter. Congratulations to the VW workers!

      2. Great post. As someone in the northeast, it’s easy to generalize all the southern states that way. I think we often forget that people are individuals; not a monolith based on geography or other factors. I have an extremely socially liberal friend who moved to the mountains of NC a year ago, I asked her how she was doing there, and she said the town she was in was actually quite liberal and liked all the people very much.

        One hears the rhetoric coming from the elected officials, and it’s easy to think they speak for the whole population Gotta remember that even in the south, politicians really only work for about 10% of the voters.

    2. This is a step in the right direction to get the Deep South politicians out of the nineteenth century. Paying working people the absolute least possible does not lead to general prosperity.

      From the National Conference of State Legislatures:
      “Five states have not adopted a state minimum wage: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Two states, Georgia and Wyoming, have a minimum wage below $7.25 per hour. In all seven of these states, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour applies.” 

      So much for the states knowing how to decide things for themselves. $7.25 in 2024 is criminal. That’s 50 bucks for 8 hours of work. Unions are desperately needed in that environment.

      1. “Let them eat cake.” /s

        These same states seem to pride themselves on being obstinate and backwards in their thinking, and actual concern for those who live/work there.

        Being proud of being turd like is not helpful to anyone. YMMV

    3. Hey as a native of Republicalifornia (Fla) I’d appreciate if you damned northerners kept your “anti-woke” grievance-peddling scammers, your gun control and your high rent prices and taxes up there.

      The unions and regulations I can adapt to, though!

Leave a Reply